LISBON—Novo Banco, the Portuguese bank created out of failed lender Banco Espírito Santo SA last year, has received three binding offers that will be analyzed in the coming weeks, the country’s central bank said Tuesday.

The central bank didn’t provide names of the bidders or financial terms of the offers.

Bank of Portugal could decide to ask some of the bidders to improve their offers if they are too similar, taking the sale to another round.

But while Novo Banco wants to fully pay back the €4.9 billion ($5.5 billion) capital injection it received from a bailout fund, analysts consider it unlikely the bank will fetch that much.

Apollo and Fosun have insurance operations in Portugal, while Santander has a banking unit.

In its latest financial report released in March, Novo Banco posted a loss of €468 million for the five months to Dec. 31, but it said deposits were growing again and its liquidity position was improving. It reported credit at risk of default of 16.5% of total loans.

Still, Novo Banco’s size makes it an attractive—and rare—prey. With €72.5 billion in assets, it has around an 18% share of Portugal’s banking market, according to the bank, and a presence in nearly two dozen countries globally.

Novo Banco was created in August last year when the Bank of Portugal broke up Banco Espírito Santo into a “good bank” and a “bad bank.” Novo Banco kept the bulk of BES’s branches, deposits and loans, while shedding shareholders’ and junior bondholders’ claims on the bank and its problematic subsidiaries in the U.S., Libya and Angola. It has kept operations in Cape Verde, Venezuela, Mozambique and a 9.9% stake in Angolan lender Banco Economico.

Banco Espírito Santo collapsed in August amid a record first-half loss triggered by its exposure to its troubled family-controlled parent company.

The sale price of Novo Banco is particularly important because from the €4.9 billion capital injection it received, €3.9 billion came from the Portuguese state. Under resolution fund rules, the state must be paid back 100% of that, which means other Portuguese banks will have to cover any shortfall.